Children's Birthday Parties.
Click here to go straight to a list of venues/suppliers.

Easter
2-5 April

                 

The word Easter comes from Saxon times, when the goddess of Spring was worshipped.  This goddess was called Eastre.  Eastre's favourite animal was a hare and, of course, Springtime is when all the baby bunnies are born.  Easter is a great opportunity to celebrate the end of the winter, suddenly flowers are starting to bloom again, baby birds are tweeting in the trees and baby lambs are skipping about the fields.  This is why we give each other eggs at Easter, as an egg is a symbol of new life. 

My favourite website at the moment is Meddybemps.com and they have lovely printable Easter colouring sheets, games, short stories, quizzes and an interactive Easter Egg Hunt.  There is also an illustrated short story to read on your computer about Frogwart the naughty witch.
www.meddybemps.com/funandgames.html

www.meddybemps.com

There are some wonderful craft activities at the American Family Fun magazine website.  Choose from:

An egg box Easter chick for holding sweets:
http://jas.familyfun.go.com/crafts

and a mouse Easter egg:
http://jas.familyfun.go.com/crafts

There are some Easter themed colour pictures to use when making your own cards or just as decorations in themselves:
http://a.familyfun.go.com/Resources/global/printables/0306_Spring-stickers.pdf

You can print off the template for these beautiful little Easter baskets, also from Family Fun:
http://a.familyfun.go.com/printables/mini-easter-basket-863104/

There is an almost endless supply of Easter crafts, activities, colouring pages and Easter printables to be found here:
www.dltk-holidays.com/easter/

Find lots of creative ways to make Easter Eggs at
www.kidscraftweekly.com

CBBC has a fun Easter Quiz to do online (it's not easy):
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/quiz

Have lots of fun rescuing Cadbury's Creme Eggs from Sir Eggbert Shelby's museum in the online game 
The Great Eggscape.  There are four levels and some brilliant graphics.

If you would like to find out about Jesus and the Easter Story there is a well written (and printable) version here:
www.childrenschapel.org/biblestories/easter

Earth day 
22 April

Earth Day is a time to celebrate our wonderful world and think of ways to protect it.  

If you want to see just how beautiful and amazing our world is, you'll find videos, activities, games and stories at:
kids.nationalgeographic.com

Find out how you can Reduce, Reuse, Recycle at this seriously cool site for kids:


www.recyclezone.org.uk

There are Earth Day crafts, games, colouring pages and projects at:
kaboose.com

You can download a 12 page "Happy Earth Day" booklet from here:
www.epa.gov/region5/publications

You'll find interesting facts about the environment and fun stuff such as interactive games and activities to print, cut and play at:


www.planetpals.com

There are lots of free energy saving tips posters to download (and stick up around the house for your family to see) at:
www.biggreenswitch.co.uk/free-downloads

St George's Day
23 April
We've had Burn's Night and St Patrick's Day, so now it's time to celebrate England!
England's patron saint is St George (he's the knight in shining armour who killed the
wicked dragon).  You can find out everything you need to know about him at the
incredible Woodlands Junior School site.


Copyright Salisbury District Council

Although there should be celebrations all around the country on this day, there are 
actually only a few.  One of the very best takes place in Salisbury, Wiltshire, where a
truly massive inflatable dragon is slayed by St George in the city's market square.

May Day
3 May

Find out everything there is to know about May Day history and customs at the delightfully old-fashioned:
Elaine's May Day Page

There are May Day crafts such as this little maypole for your toys to dance around at:
www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/

There are lots of ideas for activities and crafts including a Hawaiian Flower Garland at:
http://home.howstuffworks.com

Father's Day
20 June

Here are some fun things to make (or even just print out) to let dad know how much
you love him.  Don't forget to be extra kind and well-behaved on the day!

     
I've created a selection of simple, free Father's Day cards that you can print onto card.  They'll print out in colour and you can find them here.

kaboose.com has loads of craft activities and cards to make for Father's Day.  There's something here for everyone, from really creative cards, to pebble paperweights, a photo frame and pencil holder.

You can make this lovely card out of brown paper and a ribbon from the instructions at Enchanted Learning.

And finally, you can print these stickers by visiting the FamilyFun website, where there are so many craft activities and fun ideas you are likely to be overwhelmed by the choice!

Summer Solstice 
21 June 

The Summer Solstice is the day when the sun is at it's highest in the sky and it is also the longest day of the year.  We have 13 hours and 1 minute of sunlight on this day!
The word "solstice" comes from Latin and means "sun stands still".

Every year, on this day, hundreds of people visit Stonehenge in Wiltshire to see the sunrise
there.  In prehistoric times men built a huge circle of stones through which the sun casts a
mysterious beam.  You can see how this works on this BBC website: 
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wiltshire

You can also download lots of archaeology pages to learn from, colour in and play with from 
the people who investigate the stones at Stonehenge:
www.wessexarch.co.uk/learning/resources

Midsummer's Day
24 June

In Britain people have always celebrated the summer sunshine on Midsummer's Day, which
is 24 June.  People would build bonfires and dance in a circle around them, to celebrate
the wonderful light and warmth that the sun brings.  

This was also believed to be a magical time when all the fairies and pixies came out to play.  
Shakespeare wrote a very famous play about this called "A Midsummer Night's Dream".  
CBeebies have a short animated version of the story here:
cbeebies/stories/dream.shtml

Even the early morning dew on Midsummer's Day was believed to be magical.  Young girls 
would wash their faces with it to make themselves beautiful and old people would wash with
it to make themselves look young.

If you would like to celebrate Midsummer, you could have a picnic of traditional summer foods,
such as gooseberry fool, strawberries and raspberries.  You could even bake some little round
biscuits or cakes and decorate them with smiley sun faces.  Then you might like to either dress
up as fairies and pixies or hunt in your garden to see if you can find any hiding there on this 
special day.  In the evening you could have a bonfire to dance around, just like our ancestors did. 

St Swithin's Day
15 July
People used to say that if it rains on St Swithin's Day it will rain for 40 days  (that's almost
until the end of August).  This legend has lasted for a thousand years, ever since the bones
of St Swithins were moved to Winchester Cathedral in 971.  There was a huge storm then 
and it lasted for 40 days.  Let's hope it's a lovely day!  Just in case, you might want to paint
a smiley sun picture or colour a paper plate yellow and give it a smiley face - to encourage the 
sun to chase away the clouds.

Roald Dahl Day
13 September

To celebrate Roald Dahl Day properly you must first visit the official website: www.roalddahlday.info

Here you'll find an A4 party poster, stickers and bookplates to download.  The poster has lovely
suggestions for how to celebrate e.g. wear something yellow (this was Dahl's favourite colour),
write a revolting rhyme, make up an Oopma Loompa Dance with your friends or give someone
a treat (Dahl loved to give treats).  

You can download party printables from the Treats section of the website.  These include:
birthday bunting, a characters quiz and enormous BFG ears.  Then get recipes for Mrs Twit's
Eyeball Cakes and a Hot Choc Sludge Drink.  If you have any energy left, you can also get printables
for making an enormous concertina crocodile or a roly-poly bird, amongst others.  

What a celebration!

If you still haven't had enough, you can visit the Roald Dahl site: www.roalddahl.com
where there are book-themed online games and facts about the great man himself.  
If you can wait until November 2009 an animated film of "The Fantastic Mr Fox" is due
 to be released by (can you believe it?) Fox Animated Studios.  George Clooney is going
to supply the voice of Mr Fox, so you shouldn't have trouble persuading mum to take 
you to see it!

International Talk Like a Pirate Day.
Friday 19 September.

Just to make sure everyone knows it is a special day, you can download this poster and 
put it up in your front window:  www.talklikeapirate.com/partykit

There is a pirate hat and eye patch to cut out here:
www.leehansen.com/printables

and there's a whole page of free pirate clip art to use as you wish, on the same site:
www.leehansen.com/clipart/

There are lots of lovely pirate crafts including a spyglass, a parrot and a pirate ship at dltk-kids:
www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/pirates

The Disney website FamilyFun has some great ideas for pirate games or a pirate party:
http://familyfun.go.com/parties

The Family Fun site is especially useful as it has a section on "How to talk like a pirate".

Autumn Equinox
21-23 September

Equinox is a Latin word meaning "equal-night".
The Autumn Equinox (which is on 23 September this year) is the day on which there are exactly 12 hours each of day and of night.  This is the last moment before the nights start to lengthen into winter, so was traditionally a time to celebrate the year's harvest (it is sometimes called Harvest Home) and to reflect on the joy of summer months.  

In astrology, this is the date on which the sun enters Libra, whose image is a set of scales, to represent the balance of night and day.

For our pagan ancestors, this was a time to rest after all the hard work of bringing in the harvest, to be grateful for all the food they had gathered and to consider what they had achieved in the last few months.  Corn dollies would be made out of the last sheaf of corn to be harvested.  The dollies were then kept inside the house to bring good luck to the families over the winter.  People would gather together in the evening and honour the Green Man (who was their god of the woods) by pouring cider or ale at the base of a tree.  (It was a way of thanking the tree for it's goodness by sharing a drink with it.)  The equinox was also known, in England, as The Feast of Avalon because it coincides with the apple harvest and Avalon means "the land of apples".

In medieval times, the church turned the pagan festival into the Christian feast of St Michael and All Angels or Michaelmas (pronounced 'mickelmas').  Michael was the archangel who threw Lucifer (the devil) out of heaven.  There is a legend that when the devil fell to earth he landed on a blackberry bush, which he cursed for its prickliness!  

This year Michaelmas is on 29 September.  Some schools and colleges still call the first term of a new school year the Michaelmas term.  Old superstitions say that it is unlucky to pick blackberries after Michaelmas, but if you  eat goose on this day you will be lucky for the rest of the year.  The Victorians believed that a tree planted on Michaelmas Day would grow really well.  So why not plant an apple tree this year?  It will be well established by next year, when you will be able to celebrate the equinox in the pagan fashion by gathering around and sharing a drink with it!

The Big Draw
1-31 October

  

This is a nationwide, month-long season of drawing events for all ages.  
Big Draw Day is Saturday 10 October, but there will be events taking place throughout October. 
See our diary section for local Sussex events. 
Find out more at:  www.campaignfordrawing.org

To get you started, there are free drawing lessons at www.howtodrawit.com
The advice is so simple it's suitable for ages 3 and over!

If you are feeling really inspired, the Art Attack website has everything a budding artist could wish for.

World Animal Day
Saturday 4 October

Your first port of call needs to be the World Animal Day website
where you can access the Kids Zone for animal jokes and loads of ideas.  You can do
something kind things for your animals, such as making a toy mouse for your cat, decorating 
a new bowl for your dog, make a cake for garden birds or even a toy aquarium for your bedroom.

If you click on this link Who Came To Our Bird Table? you can download a chart for 
recording all the birds who come to your garden in a week.  

If you are unable to identify all the birds, there is a wonderful Children's Guide to Garden Birds at the Campaign for Learning website.  You can print off this free 24 page activity booklet  here and keep it by the window for reference.  (After you've coloured in all the lovely pictures).

For an easy fun craft activity, you can visit the BBC's Little Animals Activity Centre
and print off pages to cut out and make tiny finger puppets of a mole, an owl, a hedgehog,
a mouse or a fox.

National Children's Book Week
5-11 October 

Children's Book Week is a celebration of books and reading for children of primary school age.
This year's theme for Book Week is Words and Pictures.

There are lots of resources and ideas at the official website: 
www.booktrust.org.uk/Campaigns/Childrens-Book-Week

These books were shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize in 2008.  
Why not visit your library and try them all?

Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear by Andy Stanton
Paddington Here and Now by Michael Bond
Stop in the Name of Pants! by Louise Rennison
Cosmic by Frank Cottrell
Aliens Don't Eat Dog Food by Dinah Capparucci
Urgum and the Goo Goo Bah! by Kjartan Poskitt

Or try the Tikes Stay In page of this website, where you'll find lots of recommended books 
plus links to the publishers' own websites - some are interactive and great fun!

Diwali - Festival of Lights
17 October

www.diwalifestival.org

Diwali celebrates the Hindu New Year.  In preparation for this, people spring clean their homes and open windows to let in Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth.  To light the goddess' way, lamps are lit all over the house.  The word "diwali" comes from the word "deepavali" meaning "cluster of lights".

There is a free printable picture of the goddess Lakshmi for the kids to colour here:
www.balagokulam.org

A little oil lamp is also put in the window, in memory of Prince Rama and Princess Sita.  According to legend, Rama and Sita loved each other very much.  One day an evil demon tricked Rama into leaving  the beautiful Sita alone in the forest, so that he could steal her from him.  Rama set out to rescue Sita with the help of the monkeys and other animals and had a series of amazing adventures on the way.  When Rama and Sita finally returned to their own land the people put little oil lamps in their windows to welcome them home.

There is a simple retelling of the story of Rama and Sita here: www.cist.org.uk

This is a real family party time, as delicious food is prepared and fireworks are set off to ward off evil spirits - a bit like our Halloween.  On the last day of Diwali, sisters cook for their brothers, who give them presents in return.

It is also traditional to make beautiful Rangoli patterns on the ground using coloured powders.  
You can see some images of these here:  

www.diwalifestival.org

You can find a free Rangoli pattern to print off and colour in at Crayola.com  
If you paste it to some card and cut out the disc, you can hang it up on your door to welcome your friends: www.crayola.com/free-coloring-pages

There are instructions for making an Indian elephant, a decorated slipper and a Diwali lamp pot at  Big Eyed Owl

There is a really yummy Diwali pudding recipe at this BBC webpage:
www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/

British Summertime Ends
25 October

Did you remember the saying?  "Spring forward and Fall back. " 
So tonight you need to put your clock back one hour.  This is the best bit - you get a whole extra hour in bed!

31 October 

Halloween cards and party invitations.

I've put together some images for these which you can use by clicking below.  
It's always difficult to print straight onto card, so I suggest you print off the page you want, 
cut out the relevant picture and glue it to an A5 card folded in half.  You can then write your own message inside.

Halloween page 1
Halloween page 2
Halloween page 3
Halloween page 4

Pumpkin Carving

There is a very good tutorial to be found at Halloween Pumpkins
They have also generously included a number of free templates like the one below.

Copyright www.halloweenpumpkins.be

Halloween Recipes
As usual the BBC has come up with the best recipes, this time from their Good Food magazine website.  You'll find spooky spider cakes and that essential pumpkin pie recipe:  www.bbcgoodfood.com

There are also some good recipes, including a very simple Gingerbread Skeletons & Ghosts one at the baking goods company Supercook's website: www.oetker.co.uk

There is a Frog Pond Cup Cakes recipe on the same site, it's almost too good for kids!
www.oetker.co.uk

Wanda's Halloween Cookbook doesn't take itself too seriously and it has some really lovely recipes for 
Pumpkin Pie and easy Marshmallow Ghosts. 

Copyright Halloweenkitchen.com

Halloween Decorations

Print off the pages from this Familyfun website for pictures of cats, pumpkins, ghosts and spiders to stick on walls or windows for Halloween night.

Familyfun also h as colourful cartoon type banner to print off and cut out.

You could alternatively make a spookier banner with pieces of white, orange and black paper or card.  
Print off these templates.  
You will then need to cut out the eyes, nose and mouth of each (plus the outlines if you can).  
Then punch a hole at the top right and left of your paper and push string through each to hang them in a line.

www.thetoymaker.com/Holidays/Halloween/skull1.pdf
www.thetoymaker.com/Holidays/Halloween/cat2.pdf
www.thetoymaker.com/Holidays/Halloween/pumpkin3.pdf


Halloween Party Games / Activities 

There are lots of lovely party game ideas at partygameideas.com

The American chocolate company Hersheys has instructions and printables for games such as Pin the Wart on the Witch and an easy Ghost Pinata to make.

Copyright www.hersheys.com

My family's favourite Halloween Party Game is  
"The Feely Game".  

It needs a small amount of preparation, but is well worth the effort.  
You need to prepare a number of items and place them on a table either hidden inside shoe boxes (with a hand hole cut in the side) or simply under separate tea towels.  
All the party guests stand outside the door and are brought into the (darkened) room one-by-one to feel the items on the table and guess what they could be.  

The most effective items are as follows:
2 hard boiled and shelled eggs (these will feel like eyeballs).
1 rubber glove (preferably the thin transparent kind) filled with flour and secured at the arm end with a rubber band.  
(This feels remarkably like a human hand, if you put enough flour inside.)
1 old wig (feels horrible in the dark)
plate of cold cooked spaghetti
a piece of pumpkin cut into the shape of an ear
1 raw sausage (kids will obviously need to wash their hands after this.)

There are lots of other things that you can do.  If your children are very small or squeamish, they'd probably rather just feel random toys and household items (obviously not sharp ones).  However, the older children like to pretend they are feeling  various body parts - especially as it's Halloween.  The best way to play this game is by encouraging the most hysterical guest to play first.  Their shrieks when they touch the various items only adds to the tension felt by those waiting outside the door!  

Another good game for families is 
Nelson's Eye.  

Only one person needs to be the "victim" here as everyone else gets to watch.  It is probably best to choose the person  with the strongest stomach!  The person who has been nominated / who's volunteered waits outside the door while the scene is set.  One person is going to be Nelson and another is the story's narrator.  The rest are simply the audience.  
The person who is going to be Nelson needs to be dressed appropriately in a heavy jacket.  
He needs to put only one arm into the jacket and have the other sleeve hanging empty.  A pirate patch is also a vital prop.  
Your last prop is a soft boiled egg with the top cut off.
The volunteer needs to be blind folded before coming into the room.  Stand the volunteer in front of "Nelson" and tell them  that you are going to introduce them to Admiral Horatio Nelson.  Ask them to shake Nelson's left hand.  Explain that he cannot shake hands with his right hand because he lost that arm in battle, then let the volunteer feel the empty sleeve.  Tell the volunteer how brave Nelson was and how he won the Battle of Trafalgar in October 1805, directing the fighting from his famous ship "The Victory".  Tell how Nelson had not only lost his arm, but also his right eye in another battle, then let the volunteer feel the eye patch on Nelson's face.  Explain that he has to wear an eye patch to cover his lost eye because it is so hideous. Now tell the audience that Nelson is going to show them what his face looks like without the patch, but the volunteer must not look.   (At which point all the other guests must scream horribly!)  Now tell the volunteer that although they can't see Nelson's missing eye, you are going to let them feel it instead.  At this point you guide the volunteer's finger to the soft boiled egg and poke it into it.  You can probably see why it's best to ask an adult to be the volunteer - we don't want anyone to be traumatised!

Visit the all new Winnie the Witch website for all sorts of witch related activities. 

There is a free printable Winnie the Witch colouring in sheet at: www.galaxy.bedfordshire.gov.uk

and a free dot-to-dot printable of Winnie's cat Wilbur at: www2.scholastic.co.uk

and a whole page of Winnie the Witch jokes at:  www.oup.com/uk/minisites/

You can also find a lovely witch and cat poem with a picture to colour in at:  

www.scholastic.co.uk

There are instructions for an easy- to- make egg carton spider at http://crafts.kaboose.com

Finally, the Hershey's website also has a Halloween Word Search for ages 7+:  www.hersheys.com/trickortreats/

Halloween Fancy Dress Ideas

Again the best site seems to be Familyfun, with more Halloween Fancy Dress ideas than you could ever imagine.  Some are complicated and require a bit of time, but some are very straightforward.  

Kids Craft Weekly has lovely instructions for how to make a pirate hat, parrot and a treasure chest.  So if your kids are pirate mad after watching Johnny Depp strut his stuff, this should keep them entertained. 

Halloween trivia

You can find lots of facts about Halloween here:
www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/Halloween/facts.htm
Interestingly, the last fact is that if you want to meet a witch on Hallowe'en night you must put your clothes on inside out and walk backwards.  In Scotland, the children go out 'guising' on Halloween night, which means they all put their clothes on back to front - maybe this way they could look like they were walking backwards, but without bumping into things!

How could you get through Halloween without a sneaky peek at the Harry Potter official website?
www.jkrowling.com/ 

Bonfire Night
5 November

The Gunpowder Plot
Bonfire Night is celebrated to remember the day that Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the King James and his Parliament on 5th November 1605.  Guy Fawkes was a Catholic soldier and, at that time, Catholics were forbidden to pray in their own churches.  They were very angry with the King and so some plotted to get rid of him, hoping that a new King might be kinder to them.  They rented a cellar underneath the Houses of Parliament and placed 36 barrels of gunpowder in it.  They were going to blow them up when the King came to open the Houses of Parliament.  Unfortunately for Guy Fawkes, someone discovered the plan and he was caught in the cellar, where he was waiting to light the fuse.  He was later executed for treason (which means trying to harm the King or your country).
King James was very frightened by this plot to kill him, so he told his people that they should light a bonfire every 5 November, to remember this terrible plot.  We still do this 400 years later and some people even put a dummy called a "Guy" on top of the bonfire, which is meant to look like Guy Fawkes. 

Copyright Learning & Teaching Scotland

Remember, remember the fifth of November,
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.

Guy Fawkes, guy, 'twas his intent
To blow up king and parliament.
Three score barrels were laid below
To prove old England's overthrow.

By God's mercy he was catch'd
With darkened lantern and burning match.
So holler boys, holler boys, "God save the King!"
And what shall we do with him?
BURN HIM!

There is a printable version of this rhyme to be found at:
www.activityvillage.co.uk/remember_remember

If that isn't enough, you can download a whole factsheet about the Gunpowder Plot from the Houses of Parliament's own website:
www.parliament.uk

Now you know everything about Bonfire Night you can try the interactive quiz
news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews

or you can test your knowledge of the Gunpowder Plot with a great game:
www.bbc.co.uk/history/british

Games and printables

There are some lovely colourful interactive games including Virtual Sparkler, an Interactive Poster and a Pets Game, plus the Fireworks Safety Code at the DTI site:
www.dti.gov.uk/fireworks/games

There are free printable pages of Bonfire Night pictures to colour here:
www.activityvillage.co.uk

and more Bonfire Night colouring pages here (these are more cute):
www.underfives.co.uk1
www.underfives.co.uk2

There's a more grown up fireworks colouring page at:
http://familyfun.go.com/printables/

I've found a free printable Firework Writing Paper at:
www.primarygames.com/print_zone

You can build your own very colourful Crayola Fireworks Spectacular at:
www.crayola.com/kids/games

You can even create your own musical fireworks display at:
www.pbs.org/capitolfourth/fireworks

You can print off and talk about this lovely "Bonfire Night" poem by Irene Yates.  You could also draw and colour some pictures of the things in the poem.   www.fireworksafety.co.uk

Just to be on the safe side, you may wish to download a copy of the Fireworks Safety Code:
www.berr.gov.uk/fireworks

Recipes

If you're celebrating Bonfire Night at home, don't forget to stock up with sausages, baking potatoes, soup and marshmallows to toast on sticks - it wouldn't be a true Bonfire Party without those!  

However, if you want to follow the American example for a camp fire party on Bonfire Night you could try this recipe for 'Smores.  They get their name from the fact that everyone always wants some more.

You'll need:
A packet of Digestive biscuits
One large bar of chocolate
A large pack of old fashioned marshmallows (not the new fluffy kind)
Some kebab sticks

All you do is melt the marshmallows on a kebab stick in the fire, then sandwich them between 2 Digestive biscuits.  If you squeeze a square of chocolate in there too, it melts and goes a bit squishy as well.  Can't imagine why everyone always wants more! 

If you're lucky you might be able to persuade mum to help you make Bonfire Toffee and Toffee Apples from the recipes found here:
www.fireworks.co.uk/party/recipes.html

You can make easy Chocolate Sparklers by dipping chocolate finger biscuits into warm water for a second and then into a dish of and hundreds and thousands.  Anyone could make them!

Remembrance Sunday & Remembrance Day
8 & 11 November

      
You have probably seen lots of people selling and wearing red poppies in the last few weeks.  This is because November is the time when we remember all the soldiers, sailors and airmen who have lost their lives fighting for our country.  November was chosen because World War I ended at 11am on the 11 November 1918.  Every year since then the British have remembered these brave people at 11am on the 11 November to make sure they are never forgotten.  Out of respect, everyone stops what they are doing and stays silent for 2 minutes.  So, all across the country adults at home or in their workplaces and children in their schools will all be doing exactly the same thing at the same time.  

Because the 11 November can be on any day of the week (and so lots of people might be working), there is also a special day of Remembrance on Sunday.  There is a national ceremony in London at the Cenotaph (which is a big memorial monument).  The Queen places the first wreath on the steps of the Cenotaph and there is a special service. 

 
Copyright www.britishlegion.org.uk

Soldiers with bugles (a sort of trumpet) play "The Last Post".  This is a tune which marks the end of a soldier's day and it represents a final farewell.  You can listen to an mp3 of this by clicking on this weblink: www.lastpost.be/    It's a very sad-sounding tune.

It is also the custom to read the poem by Laurence Binyon called "The Fallen".  
You can find the whole poem at www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk
but you might recognise these famous lines:

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years contemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them."

Many of the men who died were very young and that makes it even more sad.  
However, Henry Allingham who lived in Eastbourne and was briefly the world's oldest man (he died aged 113!) fought in the First World War.  He believed it was very important we remembered the people we lost so that no-one would ever want to start another war.

Stir Up Sunday
22 November (Last Sunday before Advent)

This is the day when families traditionally gather together to prepare the Christmas pudding, with each member of the family taking a turn with the stirring.  (Christmas puddings were probably introduced to Britain from Germany by Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert.)  The pudding is made a long way in advance because it takes a few weeks for all the dried fruit to become nice and moist inside and for all the flavours to mingle.

On their way home from church, children used to chant :

Stir up, we beseech thee,
The pudding in the pot,
And when we get home,
We'll eat the lot!

There are lots of rituals to be observed when making a Christmas pudding: 
 
The pudding should have 13 ingredients to represent Jesus and each of his disciples.  

Everyone in the family should stir the pudding and make a wish while they stir.

You should always stir from East to West, which was the direction the Three Kings took on their journey to bring gifts to baby Jesus.

A (very clean) lucky coin can be mixed into the pudding.  Whoever finds it on Christmas Day will have a  wealthy and happy future.  In the past, people used to use a sixpence but a 10p piece will do - as long as all your guests are warned to look out for it!

You can also add a ring, whose finder will be getting married soon, and a thimble which is meant to predict a lucky life for those who find it.  

(To avoid anyone choking on these, they can be wrapped in greaseproof paper before being added.  Children should have their slice of pudding cut up small for them before they eat it, so that any trinkets can be found.)

Some recipes tell you to soak the dried fruit overnight, so be prepared to start on Saturday.
According to Delia Smith, it's not wise to cook or store Christmas puddings in tin foil, as it makes them taste funny.  So wrap them in greaseproof paper instead.

There is a straightforward Katie Stewart recipe at Easy Living's site:
www.easylivingmagazine.com/Food/Recipes/KatieStewartChristmasPudding/

Delia's recipe can be found at:
www.deliaonline.com/recipes/traditional-christmas-pudding

The BBC has three different recipes at:
www.bbc.co.uk/food/news_and_events

Thanksgiving
26 November

Traditional Thanksgiving Poem:

     
 
"Thanksgiving"
The year has turned its circle,
The seasons come and go.
The harvest is all gathered in
And chilly north winds blow.

Orchards have shared their treasures,
The fields, their yellow grain.
So open wide the doorway-
Thanksgiving comes again!

What is Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving is an American national holiday when families get together to share a big meal and celebrate all the good things in their lives.  It is a time when all the fruits and vegetables that grew over the summer have been safely gathered in.  Everyone is pleased that they will have plenty to eat over the long, cold winter months.  

In America, it is traditional to eat a meal of roast turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie for pudding.  This is because these were the foods that the first British settlers in America would have eaten.  People like to remember this because when the settlers came to America they had to start with very little and so found it really hard to keep themselves safe and fed.  One autumn, when the settlers had hardly anything to eat, the local native American Indians brought them lots of their own food and shared it with them.  This was such a kind thing to do, people celebrate it every year. 

The First Thanksgiving

There is a really interesting interactive section on the Scholastic website that tells you all about 
the first American Thanksgiving:
www.scholastic.com/scholastic%5Fthanksgiving/
You can voyage on the ship "Mayflower" from Plymouth, England to Cape Cod, America along with the original settlers and experience the exciting sights and sounds of the voyage.  Then find out about daily life on the colony, learn some Red Indian games and hear all about the original Thanksgiving Feast.

Hold your own Thanksgiving Dinner

Why not have a Thanksgiving Dinner of your own?  It doesn't need to be on the Thursday, you could have it three days later instead of your usual Sunday lunch.  All the recipes you will need can be found at the links given below.  Don't forget to prepare lots of decorations in advance, with pictures you've coloured in and place cards for the table.  Most importantly, you need to think about what you are most thankful for this year.  To help with this, print off these Thankful Cards from FamilyFun:
http://familyfun.go.com/printables/season
and place one on the table for each of your guests.  Ask everyone to fill it in and, at the end of the meal, read them out  to each other.  You're bound to feel very happy when you realise just how lucky you are!

Mum can find a recipe for Classic Roast Turkey from BBC Good Food here:
www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/
(and get some practise in for Christmas!)

Activity TV has two recipes that are so easy you could help mum make them.  
The printable recipe sheets are here for:

Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallow Topping (yum!)
www.activitytv.com/printables/

and Easy Pumpkin Pie
www.activitytv.com/printables

You can even watch videos of how to make these recipes here:
www.activitytv.com/search.aspx?term=thanksgiving

Help to decorate your Thanksgiving table with place cards for all your guests.

You can find a free printable for pumpkin place cards at Family Fun:
http://familyfun.go.com/printables/season

Thanksgiving printables and activities. 

Find out how to make a turkey out of your own handprints and footprints at Kaboose:
http://crafts.kaboose.com/hands-and-feet-turkey.html

There is a really cool Thanksgiving Activity Page at FamilyFun:
http://familyfun.go.com/printables/season/printable/thanksgiving

There's also a lovely cartoony Thanksgiving picture to colour in, again at Family Fun:
http://familyfun.go.com/printables/coloring-pages/

There are more cartoon colouring pages on a Thanksgiving theme at Lil Fingers:
www.lil-fingers.com/games/coloring/thankgiving

When you are all relaxing after your big dinner, you can have fun making up Native American Indian names for all the members of your family.  They should be names relating to nature that suggest something about how the person looks or what they are like.  
Some ideas are: Star Dancer, Pale Horse, Sitting Bull, Running Deer.  Or, it you want to be silly, how about Running Nose or Big Chief Sleepy Bear?

"Walk tall like the trees, live your life as strong as the mountains, be as soft as the spring breezes, keep the warmth of the sun in your heart and the Great Spirit will always be with you."
(Wisdom of the Navajo)  

First Sunday of Advent
29 November

Advent is the period between 30 November and Christmas Eve.  
This is when families prepare for Christmas Day, when they can celebrate the birth of baby Jesus.  
Now is the time to start writing Christmas cards, decorating the house, singing carols, buying and wrapping presents.

Advent wreath

A wreath is the traditional symbol for Advent.  
The circular shape represents God who has no beginning or end.
A wreath is green, which symbolises the new life that we are looking forward to in the Springtime.  Not many plants are green in the Winter, so the green wreath makes a house look cheerful.
Some people hang their wreath on the front door to welcome their guests.  
Others lay the wreath flat and place four candles around it.  
Christians light the candles one at a time on each of the four Sundays before Christmas.  
The first candle is for Hope, the second for Peace, the third for Love and the fourth for Joy.  
These are all things we like to think about at Christmas time.  
On Christmas Day a final special candle can be lit and placed in the centre of the wreath to celebrate Jesus' birthday and that he is the light of the world.

If you don't have a real holly or fir wreath, you can make your own wreath out of handprints.
Simply take a paper plate and draw around a saucer placed in the middle.  
Cut out the circle and you'll have a wreath shape.  
Then find some green paper and draw around your hand as many times as you can.  
Cut out all the little hand shapes and glue them all around the paper plate ring (arrange them at different angles so that they stick out nicely just like a real wreath.) 
You can then decorate your wreath in any way you like.  You could cut out little circles of coloured paper to stick onto it, or add bits of tinsel or glitter.
Last of all you can add a lovely red ribbon tied in a bow, so that it looks something like this: 

If mum looks after your wreath, and brings it out every year, one day you'll be surprised by how tiny your hands were when you made it!

Make your own Advent Calendar

There is a very simple Advent Calendar to print out and make at thetoymaker.com.
Just print off these two pages:
www.thetoymaker.com/Holidays/Christmas/advent1.pdf
www.thetoymaker.com/Holidays/Christmas/advent2.pdf

Then all you need to do is cut out the three sides of each door and glue the two pieces of paper together around the outside only.  (So that when you open the doors the little pictures will be visible.) 

There are more easy ideas for making Advent Calendars on the excellent Kids Craft Weekly site:  kidscraftweekly.com/advent_challenge

ActivityVillage.co.uk have cute little Christmas Gift Tags to print out.  

   
As there are 24 in a similar style, you could use these for a homemade advent calendar.   
Start by printing off the pages of pictures here:

www.activityvillage.co.uk/Christmas_memory_game_3.pdf
www.activityvillage.co.uk/Christmas_memory_game_2.pdf

Now cut out each of the circles and keep them in a box.  Then get a big piece of green card (or coloured-in white card) and draw the basic outline of a Christmas tree onto it.  
Something like this:  

Cut out your tree and pin it to the wall.  Then every morning the children can attach one of the circles to the tree as if it were a bauble.  It should look very festive.  If you like, you could also cut and colour a big star shape that could be stuck at the top of the tree on Christmas Day.

If you're feeling very ambitious and have a day free, you can build your own Advent village from the instructions and printables at: www.santaspostbag.co.uk/advent-town-advent-calendar

Copyright www.santaspostbag.co.uk

It's quite straightforward because all the templates can be printed from the website straight onto card for cutting and glueing.  There is a house for each day of Advent up to the 24th, which is the village church.  Once you have made all the buildings, a little treat can be hidden inside, to be found on the appropriate day.  It could be a nice project for the whole of December, as you could build up the village as the month progresses - you would only need to be a few houses ahead at a time.

There is also a truly inspired Advent Reward Chart at www.activityvillage.co.uk

Children can write down the good deeds they do each day and will have proof of their goodness to leave out for Santa on Christmas Eve.  You never know, the habit of trying to do something good each day may even last into the New Year!

There is an alternative chart, for those who need prompting about what to do, here:
www.northpole.com/Academy/GoodDeeds

St Andrew's Day
30 November 

Copyright www.scotland.org

St Andrew was one of Jesus' 12 disciples and was the brother of Simon Peter.  It was to the fishermen, Simon and Andrew, that Jesus famously said: "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men".  It was also Andrew who brought the small boy with the five loaves and the two fishes to Jesus, at the feeding of the five thousand.

After Jesus had died, Andrew spread his word all the way to the south of Russia.  For spreading the Christian gospel, he was crucified by a Roman governor in Greece.  He did not consider himself good enough to be martyred in the same way as Jesus, however, so insisted that his cross be turned sideways in an "x" shape.  

After his death, a monk named Regulus had a dream in which an angel told him to take Andrew's bones north over the seas to the end of the earth.  Regulus did this and finally reached land on the east coast of Scotland.  Where St Andrew's bones are buried is now the site of St Andrew's Cathedral in the famous city of St Andrews.  He became the patron saint of Scotland (as well as Romania, Greece and Russia) and the symbol of his cross is to be found on the Scottish flag, called The Saltire.

You can watch a great animated video of the story of St Andrew by visiting Scotland's own website here:  www.scotland.org/standrewsday/story

Scottish schoolchildren have special events on and around St Andrews Day.  They enjoy storytelling and Scottish country dancing, eat traditional Scottish food and even play the bagpipes!

St Andrew's Day is said to be a very special day for romance and magic.  According to Scottish tradition, a young girl can ask St Andrew to tell her the name of her true love on the eve of St Andrew's Day.  Just after midnight, she must peel a whole apple so that the peel stays in one piece.  She must then throw the apple peel over her shoulder.  If the peel lands on the floor in the shape of a letter, then that is the first letter of her true love's name.

DEAD FAMOUS SCOTS

St Andrew is not the only famous Scot.  Lots of famous people, especially inventors, explorers and writers, were Scottish.  The following is a brief list (you'll find some of the following facts and much more at www.ltscotland.org.uk):

J. M. Barrie - The playwright who wrote "Peter Pan".  
Find out all about Peter Pan at this Disney website:  disney.go.com/disneyvideos/animatedfilms/peterpan

There is more about J.M. Barrie at the National trust for Scotland website, which is designed for 7-11 year olds: www.ntseducation.org.uk/pupils/famous-barrie.html

John Logie Baird - inventor of television.
Before he became famous Logie Baird had very little money.  
This is what the website www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk says:
"In an attic, virtually penniless, he constructed the world's first television contraption. Sitting on a washstand the base of his motor was a tea-chest, the projection lamp sat in a biscuit tin, scanning disks were cut from cardboard, and lenses were bicycle accessories, at four pence each. The whole thing was held together by scrap wood, darning needles, string, and of course sealing-wax. And it worked."
Logie Baird moved to England and lived in Bexhill, East Sussex before he died.  You will see him mentioned on the sign that tells you that you are entering Bexhill - look out for it the next time you go there in the car.

Robert Burns - poet.  Robert Burns is Scotland's favourite poet.  If you have ever sung "Auld Lang Syne" on New Year's Eve then you have recited the words from one of his poems.

Alexander Graham Bell - inventor of the telephone.
Bell's family seem to have been fascinated by speech.  His father invented a form of lip reading for the deaf and the young Alexander even tried to teach his dog to speak!  Alexander actually invented the telephone whilst trying to find a way of sending sounds that would enable deaf people to hear them.  His own wife, Mabel, was deaf - so this was very important to him.  Once he had founded his telephone company he became a millionaire - so he was handsomely rewarded for trying to help others!

Robert the Bruce - a king of Scotland.  Robert battled for many years to become the king of Scotland and at one point, hiding in a cave, he almost gave up.  However, he was inspired by watching a spider very patiently weaving it's web.  Even though he wouldn't have heard the phrase "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again"  he certainly understood it.

Alexander Fleming - discoverer of penicillin. Fleming only discovered penicillin in 1928, before that people used to become very ill when they got infections.  Thanks to Fleming, we can now go to the doctor for antibiotics and get better in just a few days.

David Livingstone - Victorian missionary and explorer.  David Livingstone was the first European to map Africa from east to west, and to see Victoria Falls, which he named in honour of Queen Victoria.  This enormous waterfall is on the Zambezi river and was named by the locals "the smoke that thunders" because of the tremendous noise the falling water made.  Victoria Falls is a truly spectacular sight and you can view some exciting pictures at: www.zambiatourism.com 

You can also learn more about Livingstone at the child-friendly national trust for Scotland website:  www.ntseducation.org.uk/pupils/livingstone

Copyright www.mgm.com

Rob Roy MacGregor - outlaw.  When most people think of a Scotsman, they probably have a picture in their minds of Rob Roy.  He was a Scottish version of Robin Hood, an outlaw who was loved by the Highland people for always managing to make a fool of the landowners and their agents.  Even though he was arrested a number of times, he just kept escaping.  He was made famous around the world when Sir Walter Scott wrote a book about him.  He became even more famous when Liam Neeson played him in the film "Rob Roy"!

James Watt - inventor of the steam engine.  Once Watt had perfected the steam engine, the Industrial Revolution was born.  It became possible to make trains and even cars, plus all sorts of other machines that we couldn't live without today.  You can find out about Watt and steam engines at the Science Museum's site: www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/on-line/energyhall/

Finally, two other characters have come out of Scotland - they are just not quite real!


Copyright www.beanotown.com

Dennis the Menace and all the characters from The Beano are drawn and brought to life in a town on the east of Scotland called Dundee.  I'm sure you know all about Dennis, so I'll just direct you to the Beanotown website for lots of mischievous fun (you can even create your own Dennis the menace comic): www.beanotown.com

The Loch Ness Monster.  The best introduction to the Loch Ness Monster for small people comes in the form of Dick King-Smith's "The Water Horse", which has now been made into a film. This is the story, set in the second World War, of a lonely little Scottish boy called Angus.  He finds a mysterious egg which hatches into an even more mysterious creature that just keeps on growing.  Unable to keep it at home any longer, he takes it to Loch Ness to set it free.  However, once it has been released, Angus still has to protect the gentle creature from those who consider it a monster.  
There are games, pictures and downloads at: www.thewaterhorse-movie.co.uk

The lovely people at Learning & Teaching Scotland have also created a study guide for the film, packed full of facts, activities and stories, for you to download: www.ltscotland.org.uk/Images/WHStudyGuide

Tree Dressing Weekend 
6 December

Copyright /www.commonground.org.uk/

A kind lady in our street (who has a very large tree in her front garden) invites all her friends and neighbours to add a decoration (preferably homemade) to her tree at this time each year.  Everyone then has a chat and a hot drink while they admire the now-very-festive tree.  This is a wonderful tradition that encourages creativity and community-spirit whilst also cheering up the local environment.  It might inspire you to start your own local tree dressing event.   www.commonground.org.uk

Christmas 
25 December

 

Places to play
Visit Santa's Secret Village where you can write to Santa, listen to stories read by an elf - then print out and colour them in, join in with the karaoke, visit Mrs Claus' kitchen and look in her Christmas recipe book, visit the elves' toy store and the reindeer barn or even create a personalised story.  
A truly magical website:  www.northpole.com

Watch a penguin write your name or message in the snow - it's great fun!
www.star28.net/snow

There are games, make & colour activities, songs and stories over at CBBC's website: www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/christmas/

Take a digital photo of your child's face and this site will turn it into an animated elf.  
Alternatively you can select a random face instead.  You can then send it  to a friend, for whom the elf will do a little dance!  www.elfyourself.com

Things to do
For small children who would like to learn the Nativity story, you'll find a simple version with illustrations at:  www.topmarks.co.uk/christianity/nativity


Print off the Good Deeds Calendar, so that you can show Santa how well-behaved you've been this month!
www.northpole.com/Academy/GoodDeeds/December.pdf

I've found three lovely games for family get-togethers over Christmas and everything you need can be found on this site:
http://wondertime.go.com/create-and-play/article/great-family-games.html

Try these Christmas activities on printable sheets:
http://funschool.kaboose.com/ac_christmas/christmas_maze.pdf http://funschool.kaboose.com/ac_christmas/christmas_find_the_differences.pdf  
http://funschool.kaboose.com/ac_christmas/christmas_word_search.pdf 

You can get about 100 Christmas song lyrics at Kididdles.com:
www.kididdles.com/lyrics/christmas.html

Christmas crafts and printables
CBeebies also have a very easy Nativity scene to print out and make from an old shoe box.  
The family of baby Jesus can be made into finger puppets, so that you can have your own Nativity show at home, too:
www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/make/nativity.shtml

There is some good quality free Christmas clipart for cards, decorations or tags, available at:
http://parenting.leehansen.com/downloads/clipart/christmas/index.htm
           

On the same site there is a printable Christmas angel border (either horizontal or vertical) which could be printed onto all sorts of decorations, stationery or even home-made Christmas wrapping paper.
http://parenting.leehansen.com/downloads/clipart/christmas/pages/angels-border.htm

Create a banner of gingerbread men:
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/christmas/gingerbreadstring/

There is a cute Santas banner to print out at Canon printers Creative Park:
http://cp.c-ij.com/en/contents/3159/03505/index.html

The NatureDetectives website has a host of wonderful things including free printable templates for snowflakes and for snowmen chains:
http://www.naturedetectives.org.uk/seasons/winter

There are 24 free printable Christmas gift tags at allthingschristmas.com:
www.allthingschristmas.com/northpole/npprintables/tags01.html
www.allthingschristmas.com/northpole/npprintables/tags02.html

Plus 15 free printable Christmas colouring pages which would make lovely decorations once they're colored in:
www.allthingschristmas.com/northpole/color/coloring.html

If you prefer Dr Seuss' "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" pop over to: www.seussville.com/grinch/pdf/ for Grinch Christmas decorations to cut and colour in.

Make gorgeous origami decorations using the templates or by watching the animated instructions on:
origami-club.com

http://origami-club.com/en/

Anyone should be able to make a Christmas tree gift bag from these instructions at Familyfun.com

Don't forget you could also print out more of the cute gift tags we mentioned below in the 
Advent Calendar section (details and link below.)

Make a cheery reindeer out of your own hand and footprints:
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/christmas/handfoot/

There are lots of different printable snowmen to cut out and colour at Makingfriends.com.  
The parts are interchangeable, so the possibilities are endless!
www.makingfriends.com/winter/printable_snowman_craft.htm

Make your own snowflake decoration by printing this:
http://www.kaboose.com/parties/pdf/xmas_snowflake2.pdf 

New Year's Eve
31 December

I've just come across a lovely idea for frazzled parents on New Year's Eve, it's a Pyjama Party and sleepover which instantly solves the problem of guests not being able to drink and drive.  The details are to be found at: http://home.ivillage.com/holiday/0,,8jmf72x5-2,00.html
The author of this article is not really thinking of including kids, but if you got together with just a few families you get on well with and adapted it a bit, it could be great fun!

Start an annual family tradition by printing out the page at this Kids Fun File link, for each child:

2008:  My Year

Ask your children to answer each of the 8 questions to the best of their ability.  (They can write, draw or simply tell you the answers.)  I'm sure there will be some surprises, you may discover things about your children you didn't know.  To make future New Year's Eves truly special, keep all the little pages safely in a box and bring them out each year as reminders of past events and just how much has changed!

On New Year's Eve an interesting activity for kids would be to give each of them a smallish candle and ask them to push a pin through it.  Apparently the phrase "you could hear a pin drop" comes from the tradition of pushing a pin through a candle, which when burned down, dropped out at midnight.  See whose pin drops out closest to the time (and see if you can hear it) - this might be one way of getting a quiet moment! 

There were some great ideas in an American magazine called "Family Fun".  These included getting the kids to make big cardboard placards with each of the numbers 1-10 on them to hold up one after the other at the countdown until midnight.  Just before the countdown, play Hunt the Clock  (if the clock has a nice loud tick it adds a whole new dimension to the game).  You can make your own New Year's Balloons by filling balloons with homemade confetti (colored paper cut out with a hole punch) before blowing them up and tying them.  These can then be burst at midnight for a colourful explosion of confetti.  The last idea was a very clever one.  Encourage the kids to write a New Year's resolution on a piece of paper, then put each of these into the appropriate Christmas stocking before storing them.  This way they will not be seen again until almost 12 months have gone by, plus they will be something else to enjoy in the run up to Christmas.

There is a beautifully illustrated page of Victorian Parlour games to be found at the Museum of Childhood's website.  One that mums and dads might remember is "My uncle doesn't like peas", although you may have played it under a different name.
www.vam.ac.uk/moc/childrens_lives/parlour_games

Play End of the Year Charades by compiling a list of important events, songs, movies or books from 2008 and getting your guests to act them out.  Most of the newspapers have already started printing such lists, so you shouldn't be short of ideas.

When the time comes to all link hands and sing "Auld Lang Syne" be prepared by printing off the lyrics from this website:  http://www.rampantscotland.com/songs/blsongs_syne.htm
There is even an MP3 version of the song sung by Kenneth McKellar - now there's a blast from the past!

After all the midnight celebrations, make sure you have someone tall, dark and handsome to "First Foot" your house (by going out and coming in again!)  According to Scottish Hogmanay tradition, your first visitor of the year will determine how lucky you will be.  The most luck is brought by a tall, dark handsome man bringing a gift of either a loaf of bread or a lump of coal.  (That way you can be sure of being warm and well fed throughout the New Year).  

Chinese New Year
14 February 2010

This is a big celebration in China and this year it starts on 14 February.  

It is a time to get together with your family and wish everyone good luck in the coming months.  In China everyone cleans their houses thoroughly to get rid off any back luck and to make room for all the good luck that the new year might bring.  Fresh flowers are brought into the home to symbolise the coming of spring.  The Chinese also like to wear red at new year because it is considered a lucky colour. 

The Chinese calendar is a bit like our zodiac and is made up of a cycle of 12 years.   Each year is represented by a different animal and (like a horoscope) the Chinese believe that when you are born you will be a bit like the animal of your birth year.

This year is the Year of the Tiger.  

All 12 of the animals which represent the Chinese years are:

You can read the children's story of the order in which the 12 animals in the Chinese Zodiac would appear at www.blss.portsmouth.sch.uk

You'll find colouring pages of all the different Chinese New Year zodiac animals at: Apples4theteacher.com

If you'd like to know which animal represents your birthday, you can put your date of birth on to this page:  www.topmarks.co.uk/ChineseNewYear  and find your Chinese horoscope.

Chinese customs for New Year include hanging red and gold paper down the doors to keep in good luck.  These are called Hui Chun.  Red is a lucky colour in China and gold obviously means money!  

To learn how to write Happy New Year in real Chinese characters for a door banner visit Goodcharacters.com  You can even click on an audio clip to hear how to pronounce it in Chinese!

Or you can print and colour a wonderful Chinese Dragon Banner at Scissorcraft.com

New Year's Eve is celebrated with a huge family feast.  Families will often eat 8 or even 9 different dishes because 8 and 9 are lucky numbers in China (the Chinese take their superstitions very seriously.)  Long noodles are eaten because they symbolise a long life.  At the end of the meal, sticky cakes and sweets are served.  This tradition is inspired by stories of the Kitchen God who is said to tell the Jade Emperor in heaven whether the family has been good or bad this year.  The family therefore serves the Kitchen God sweet, sticky foods so that his lips will stick together and he won't be able to tell tales on them!  

You'll find an easy recipe for traditional Chinese moon cakes at:
www.dltk-kids.com/recipesdb/

After dinner the family plays cards with all the lights turned on until midnight.  
At midnight fireworks and crackers are set off to ward off evil spirits.  

If you are having a Chinese New Year Party, or just want to finish the evening off with a flourish, you can release lanterns into the sky.  Traditionally, if you write your wishes on a paper lantern and release it, the lantern will ascend to the heavens and your wishes will come true.  
You can buy these lanterns here:
www.glow.co.uk/acatalog/FLYING-CHINESE-LANTERNS.html

On New Year's Day children are given lucky red envelopes called Hong Bow containing money or sweets and everyone says "Kung Hei Fat Choy!"

Make your own personalized red Chinese Lucky Money Envelope by clicking on www.activityvillage.co.uk/pdfs/envelope

If you'd like to celebrate Chinese New Year, there are more of links to crafts and activities below:

Make a Chinese dragon out of an egg box from instructions at:
www.kidsdomain.com/craft/dragon

Learn some fun traditional Chinese games at Apples4theteacher.com

There are many, many more free Chinese New Year printables for small people at:
www.activityvillage.co.uk

Valentine's Day
February 14

Valentine's day is on February 14.  
People send a card or present to someone they love on this day.  
You must not sign the card, though, it's meant to be a secret!

There are lovely Valentine's cards to print and colour in at:
www.crayola.com/cardcreator/

There are more Valentines cards to make, recipes and crafts at this Kids Domain page:
www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/val/

There are even more original ideas for Valentine's Day crafts at:
www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/crafts-animals.htm

You'll be amazed how many animals you can make with heart shapes at this site with
printable pages:
www.first-school.ws/theme/animals/crafts/heart-shape.htm

As usual Activity Village has an enormous number of cards, activities, crafts, recipes and 
puzzles for your kids to enjoy
www.activityvillage.co.uk/valentines_day.htm

Shrove Tuesday - Pancake Day!
16 February 2010

Shrove Tuesday in the Christian calendar is the last day before Lent.  (Lent is the 40 days before Easter).  As Lent was a time of fasting, Shrove Tuesday became the day when all the fats, cream and sugar needed to be used up.  (In France and other countries, Shrove Tuesday is called Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday).  This is why we traditionally eat pancakes on this day.  In the olden days people also had Pancake Races where they would run along with their pancake in the pan, flipping and catching it as they ran.  

Copyright www.sideburn.demon.co.uk

There is a very famous poem by Christina Rossetti which celebrates this custom:

Mix a pancake,
Stir a pancake,
Pop it in the pan;
Fry the pancake,
Toss the pancake,
Catch it if you can!

In Scarborough they celebrate Shrove Tuesday by skipping with skipping rope) for a mile along the seafront.  It sounds such good fun it may inspire you to revive the custom!

You'll find a classic Delia Smith recipe for pancakes at:  www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes

You can make wonderful Mardi Gras masks at:
www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/mardigras

You can even make a Mardi Gras float for your Barbie Doll!:
www.mardigrasday.com

Mother's Day
14 March.   
 

This is your chance to show your mum how much you appreciate everything she does for you.  You don't need to spend money to get a present for her, you could do something kind for her today, pick her some flowers, or make something special for her to keep.  Here are some nice ideas:  

This link tells you how to make lovely photo frames:
www.kidsdomain.com/craft/momphotographs.html

You can also make a photo cube from old CD boxes and fill it with flowers you have made yourself.  See the Blue Peter website for instructions:
www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/bluepeter/thingstodo

You can combine a photo of yourself with a home-made card with these instructions:
www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/mothers-day-cards#slide_5

This link has instructions for making Mother's Day Cards with your own fingerprints:
www.kidsdomain.com/craft/momcards.html

There are lots of free Mothers' Day cards to print out and colour in at Activity Village:
www.activityvillage.co.uk/mothers_day_colouring.htm

You can find out how to make Painted Flower Pot gift at:
www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/thankyougifts/flowerpot/

You could write all the things you love about your mum in a letter.  You could even draw a picture of her as well.  Or you could just write a little note wishing her a happy Mothers' Day, it's up to you.
If you can't think what to write, how about a  poem like this?

Sometimes you get discouraged
Because I am so small
And always leave dirty marks
On furniture and walls.

But every day I'm growing 
I'll be grown up some day
And all those little dirty marks
Will all have gone away.

As I grow, I'll change a lot,
The years will fly right by.
You'll wonder how I grew so quick
When and where and why?

I may be still very small
But this I'd like to say
I love you very, very BIG
Happy Mother's Day!

You'll find this and other verses like it at:
www.verses4cards.co.uk/mothers-day-poems-from-kids.html

You can print off some coupons for your mum, with promises that you'll do things for her at:
www.kidsturncentral.com/holidays/mothers/nmcoupons.htm
Make sure you only give her the ones that you are able and prepared to do!
 

As usual Disney manages to do all these things and better than everyone else.  They even have a best Grandma certificate - in case she's feeling left out!   Visit their Family Fun pages to find colouring cards, crafts and coupons:
http://family.go.com/holidays/pkg-disney-mothers-day-printables/

There are a few more crafts for slightly older kids at the Disney site, including this very professional looking gift box.  (It's not quite as hard as it looks - you print off the template onto some card before cutting and folding).
http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/mothers-day-surprise-box-667686/

You may need to ask dad or older brothers or sisters for some help ... and don't forget to clear up all your mess afterwards, to keep mum happy! 

St Patrick's Day
17 March

    

St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland.  St Patrick was captured by pirates when he was a boy and spent six years as a slave before he was able to escape.  He trained as a missionary and went to Ireland to convert the Irish to Christianity.  Ireland is famous for not having any snakes on the island and the Irish believe that it was St Patrick who drove them all away.

Irish fairy stories are full of leprechauns who are mischievous little green men who make shoes for the fairies, but who also love gold and bury pots of it at the end of rainbows.  You can try to trick a leprechaun into telling you where he has buried his gold.  But if he offers to lead you there, you must never let him out of your sight or he will vanish into thin air!  If you could ever find the end of the right rainbow you could dig a hole there and find a pot of gold - so the story goes.  

One of our favourite books was Paddy's Pot of Gold by Dick King Smith.  I think it's out of print, but it's well worth getting out of the library if you can find it.

If you can't find this book, then you can always read or print out a story about leprechauns at Highlightkids.com's website:  www.highlightskids.com/Stories/

Apparently, you can use a shamrock (or four leaf clover) as bait for a leprechaun trap because leprechauns love them.  It's very good luck to find a four leaf clover (not just on St Patrick's Day!)  So, see if you can find one when you are in the park, garden or school field.  They are very rare, so if you do find one, keep it safe and it will bring you good luck.  
Four leaf clovers look like this:

    A four leaf clover.

There are some really sweet St Patrick's Day bookmark printables at:
www.activityvillage.co.uk/St Pat Bookmarks.pdf

You can print off a Happy St Patrick's Day poster here:
Happy St Patrick's Day! 

plus some shamrock coasters for your bright green drinks here (print and cut out):
Shamrock coasters

You can print out all you need (apart from the inside of a toilet roll) to Make your own Leprechaun at:
www.dltk-holidays.com

The BBC Northern Ireland has a fun Snake Game that you can play at:
www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/spring/

If you'd like to Grow Your Own Leprechaun or Build a Leprechaun Trap visit:
http://familycrafts.about.com

Perhaps if you can trap a leprechaun he will tell you where his gold is buried! 

  
You can make the cutest wee leprechaun and a place to catch him with instructions from Disney's family crafts pages:
http://familyfun.go.com/st-patricks-day/
There are all sorts of games, recipes, colouring pages and craft activities for St Patrick's Day on the same site. 

You'll find more crafts, colouring, games and recipes at the excellent dltk site:
www.dltk-holidays.com/patrick

If you'd like to find out how all the colours of the rainbow can be made, 
take a look at the Colour Wheel at: www.kidzone.ws/science/colorwheel.htm
It explains very simply how colours can all be mixed from the three primary colours.  You can print out the sheet in colour or black and white - then colour it in yourself!

Spring Equinox
(First day of Spring)
20 March

On this special day the sun will rise precisely from the East and set twelve hours later due West, for this is one of only two days in the year when the day and night are exactly equal (equi - equal; nox - night).  In Britain, this means that Springtime is beginning at last.

In pagan times the people used to celebrate by dressing up a young man and woman as the Green Man and Mother Nature.  Nowadays, we mostly just do lots of spring cleaning and start to venture out into the garden again!  

The arrival of Spring is one of the most obvious things to celebrate as it brings with it the promise of new life.  Look around in your garden and in the countryside and you will see all sorts of flowers starting to blossom and bloom.  There will be baby lambs out on the fields and if you look very carefully you may spot some birds gathering twigs to build their nests.

The very kind people at The Woodland Trust have put together 100 activities for Spring, which you can find and download here: www.naturedetectives.org.uk/download/spring
These include a Spring Play Booklet, a Woodland Log Book and many nature spotter sheets.

You don't have to go far, though, to celebrate Spring.  Why not clear out all your old toys and make room for new things, or maybe go into the garden with mum and dad to help tidy up in preparation for some new flowers and plants.  Maybe this year you could have a patch of your own where you could grow some fruit and vegetables?  There are many more ideas to help you with this on our Mums Green pages.  

British Summer Time begins
28 March

Remember it's: Spring forward and Fall back.  So put your clocks forward before you go to bed (early because you are losing an hour somewhere!)

April Fool's Day
1 April

Trick your mum or dad on the morning of April Fool's Day, by printing off this page, folding it in half to make a card and then gluing it together.  Whoever you give it to won't be able to open it - so they're the fool!  http://familyfun.go.com/Resources

 

CHILDREN'S PARTIES AMAZON OUTDOOR EVENTS.  Quad Bike Parties. Supervised and insured quad bike parties for ages 6 to adult.  From £29 pp.   Hellingly, East Sussex.  Call (01323) 645564.  www.amazonatv.co.uk BLACKBERRY FARM. A22, Whitesmith, near Lewes. Working farm with animals to feed and stroke, plus pony, donkey and tractor rides. (01825) 872912 www.blackberry-farm.co.uk CINEMA PARTIES Hailsham Pavilion, George Street, Hailsham. Parties of 10 or more people can get special rates at the latest film  (plus a Birthday Announcement before the film).  Or you can hire the entire cinema and  show your own favourite film!  Catering facilities available.  Tel:  (01323) 841414 or visit: www.hailshampavilion.co.uk CLAIRE'S FARMYARD FRIENDS. Small mobile farmyard - comes to you! Children can learn about and handle rabbits, guinea pigs, chicks (and lambs between March and May).   Parties are £60 per hour, needs a min. of 10 days notice. Call Claire on (01323) 639220 or visit:  www.farmyardfriends.co.uk CLUSTERS - Jewellery making. Children's jewellery making parties, priced to suit your needs. Contact Vicky on (01323) 472136 or 07793 388345. CN MAGIC. Disco, games and a magic show for ages 4+.   Magician who regularly performs in school assemblies in various Eastbourne schools. Call (01323) 764264 or visit www.cnmagic.co.uk COTTON CANDIES - Children's Party Food. Tailor made party food and party bags at competitive prices (from £1.95 per head.) Contact Marie on (01323) 728640 or 07787 079831. CRAZY COOKING. Cookery parties for children. Contact Jackie on (01323) 720944. DRUSILLA'S ULTIMATE PARTY. Drusillas Zoo Park, Alfriston. All day Park access, choice of hot or cold menus, unlimited ice cream and opportunity to feed the penguins. Call (01323) 874100 for more info. Or visit www.drusillas.co.uk EASTBOURNE MINIATURE RAILWAY ADVENTURE PARK. Lottbridge Drove, Eastbourne. Birthday parties are hosted for EMSR members, but membership is only  £40 per family (of 4) and this allows unlimited entry to the park plus discounted train tickets.  Parties are then £6 per head to include 3 train rides, cold buffet, balloons and invitations. Contact Rachel on (01323) 520229 or visit www.emsr.co.uk GLITZY'S MAKEOVER PARTIES FOR GIRLS. Makeovers (to include nails, temporary tattoos and lots of glitter!)   Double dance mats, double karaoke, disco and laser lights. Party Bag service for boys and girls. £1.50 or £2.50 size party bags with a combination of sweets, toys / hair accessories etc.   Free delivery in Eastbourne area. Contact Helen on (01323) 503633. LLOYDS LANES BOWLING AND LASERQUEST. Broadwater Way, Hampden Park, Eastbourne.   Call (01323) 509999 for more details or visit www.lloydslanes.co.uk/eastbourne LIMO FEVA - LIMOUSINES. Limos for birthdays, proms, hen nights and weddings.   Tel:  (01323) 766305 / (01323) 488520 or visit:  www.limofeva.co.uk MASTERPIECE POTTERY PAINTING STUDIO. The Old Loom Mill, Ersham Road (B2104), Hailsham. Pottery painting parties for groups of 6 or more.   Under 6's party has 1 hour guided painting session and half an hour for food. Over 6's party has 90 minute guided painting session and half an hour for food.  From £9.50 per head (excl. food but incl. small party bag) plus £3.50 per person for party food.   Can bring own food (£1 pp cover charge.)   Call (01323) 449245 / 07811 076307 for more details or visit www.masterpiecestudio.co.uk OBSERVATORY SCIENCE CENTRE. Herstmonceux, Hailsham. Call (01323) 832731 for more details or visit www.the-observatory.org RAY SPARKS. Punch and Judy, magic, balloon modelling. Eastbourne's very own Punch & Judy man, as seen on the seafront every summer.  Ray has  a lengthy list of prestigious clients and has even appeared before Princess Diana! Call Jacqui for details on (01323) 509622 or visit:  www.sparksmagic.com  ROCKY'S, Fort Fun, Royal Parade, Eastbourne.   90 minutes of play and 45 minutes for tea.  Visit from Rocky Bear.  Free invites, party hats, popcorn and balloon.  Tel:  (01323) 642833 or visit:  www.fortfun.co.uk/birthdaynew.htm POSH NAILS.   139A Green Street, Eastbourne. Children's parties with mini manicures, nail art and a chocolate fountain!  Only £8 per person.  Call (01323) 722 888 for more details. SEVEN SISTERS CYCLE CO. Choose from:   PIRATE RAFTING - make your own raft complete with pirate flag and sail it  across the meanders. BIKING BIRTHDAY - 2 hours with your own bike instructor teaching you all  the tricks and trails through the forest. JIGGS' DILEMMA - Jiggs, the friendly smuggler, is on the run.  Find all his barrels and  hide them in a forest shelter (that you've built yourself) before the Squire finds him! Then hunt for your hidden treasure. Parties £14 per person.  Party + BBQ or picnic £24 per person. Seven Sisters Country Park, Exceat, near Seaford.  (01323) 870310. www.cuckmere-cycle.co.uk SPRING BARN FARM. Kingston Road, near Lewes. Toddler's mini maze, indoor and outdoor play areas, animals and kids' assault course.   Call (01273) 488450  or visit  www.springbarnfarmpark.co.uk for more details. SPLODGE CRAFTY PARTIES 4 KIDS. Creative fun for children aged 3-11.  Make masks, hats, puppets or decorate T-shirts, mugs etc.   One hour's entertainment or more to suit.  Call (01323) 728230. WILDERNESS WOOD. A272, Hadlow Down, nr Uckfield. Lovely outdoor activities. Phone (01825) 830509 or visit www.wildernesswood.co.uk WOODLAND DISCOVERY PARTIES. Bentley Wildfowl and Motor Museum.   Bake campfire bread, go on a bug hunt, learn about animal tracks and signs. For ages 8 and over. (01825) 840870.  www.thewoodsman.co.uk YOUNG FARMER BIRTHDAY PARTIES. Spring Barn Farm Park, Includes admission to the farm park for all party children plus free admission for one adult per child booked.   Reserved seating for 2 1/2 hours 11am - 1.30pm or 2pm - 4.30 pm, plus  birthday lunch or tea, served in fun farm boxes.  £12 per child (min. 8 children).  Themed  birthday cake can also be made to order for only £18. Phone (01273) 488450 or visit www.springbarnfarmpark.co.uk ZEST Specialist in reasonably priced party food.  Party bag service also available. Contact Helen on (01323) 743702 or visit www.zest-catering.co.uk (I can personally recommend this one!) SPORTS CENTRES. The Eastbourne sports centres have facilities for children's sports and bouncy castle parties.   These generally last about one and a half to two hours and cost approx £50.   You can access more info from the following websites: Cavendish:  eastbourne.gov.uk/leisure/sport/council/cavendish/parties Hampden Park:  eastbourne.gov.uk/leisure/sport/council/hampden-park/parties Shinewater:  eastbourne.gov.uk/leisure/sport/council/shinewater/youth/parties Freedom Leisure, Hailsham Leisure Centre. Vicarage Lane, Hailsham. Bowling, softplay or swimming parties. Call (01323) 846755 for more details or visit www.freedom-leisure.co.uk Downs Leisure Centre, Seaford. Activities include:  swimming, soft play, sports, trampolining and bouncy castle.   More info at:  waveleisure.co.uk/kids_juniors.asp HALLS FOR HIRE The Bridgemere Centre, 100 Bridgemere Road, Eastbourne. Email:  office@bridgemerecc.co.uk  Old Town Community Centre, 1a Central Avenue, Old Town, Eastbourne.  Tel:  (01323) 721922  Polegate Community Centre, 54 Windsor Way, Polegate. Tel:  (01323) 482434. St John's Church, St John's Road, Meads. Tel:  (01323) 738671. St Mary's Church, 69 Decoy Drive, Eastbourne. Tel:  (01323) 501704. Upperton United Reformed Church, Upperton Road. Tel:  (01323) 729036. (Although these are available for hire - please check with the individual venues  as to their suitability for children's parties.)